Horses in the Shadows
by Mapleshade Returns
Summary: Rowan is a fostered child, trying to adjust to her ever-changing life. Someone finally answers that dreaded advert, and now she is off to another home with people she barely knows. But what happens when she meets the perfect horse? What about all her friends at the orphanage? What about a new school? All these questions, and only one answer, that lies in the shadows.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone! I know, I have another Horseland story going on. But I didn't like the way it was going, and I just found no inspiration. So, I have decided to try again, new character, plot, horse, EVERYTHING! I hope you like it! Sorry to anyone who was hoping for me to continue my other story? Hopefully this one will be better.**

Rowan rushed around 'her' room, grabbing a pair of loose jeans and pulling them on. Next, she grabbed a blue T-shirt, a woolly jumper and her boots. She could hear the carers calling down the corridor. Linda had already left, and so she took one last glance around the room she shared.

Rowan was a foster child. No one had yet answered the latest 'Rowan needs a home' advert, so she was still stuck in Green Hill Foster Care, the home for unwanted kids everywhere. Not that the people in charge would call it that, but among the children there, that was its name.

She was twelve, turning thirteen in a few months. Teenagers were not popular among foster carers (at least, that's what the older kids said), so she was unlikely to be 'adopted' any time soon. Anyway, back to the story.

The walls of the small room were light blue, but were covered (on her side of the room) with horse posters. There was hardly a gap to spare! She was about to go into one of her dream-like states when she heard her name being called again.

"Rowan, we are leaving! Come on!" One of the carers, Shannon, yelled.

"I'm coming! I'm just grabbing stuff!" She returned, picking up a hair bobble and pulling her long black hair into it. She rushed down the corridor.

"Come on! The people at Horseland want us there by three, and it is nearly quarter-to! Honestly Rowan!" Shannon scolded, grasping her hand and pulling her outside. Three other children, Linda, Mark and Tony, stood outside. Linda, of course, was standing haughtily with her pointed nose tilted upwards in her snobby fashion. They were all crowded around Shannon's new car, Mark and Tony jostling for position in the back seats. Linda was getting into the seat beside the driver (She was the oldest, so quite clearly she ought to sit there, right?) and there was just room for Rowan to squeeze into the middle between Mark and Tony.

Tony was a small, mousy boy with glasses, freckles, and two large front teeth that dwarfed the rest of his teeth. Mark was rather the opposite. He was tall but not lanky, with dark brown hair, olive skin and (much to Tony's disappointment) had stopped needing to use glasses some time ago. However, the two were best friends and got along charmingly. Rowan was in their little 'squad' too, and as the only girl got treated like royalty, but that didn't mean that they let her win play fights or get the last brownie at dinner time.

Shannon got in the car, turned on the engine, and didn't speak for the entire drive. Joyful. Luckily, it was only five minutes by car, and Rowan had plenty to do with keeping Tony from stealing the mints from her pocket!

When they reached Horseland, Shannon explained everything again once they had piled out of the car. They were there to ride the horses which was to be a treat, and they had to be nice to the horses, riders and staff. They were not to scream, shout, run about (Mark started laughing at this) or make silly or rude remarks. If they misbehaved, there would always be another child happy to take their place (Mark shut up.).

Rowan let the speech pass over her head, and instead inspected everything that was going on around her. She looked at the gates to Horseland, imagining that she was walking in with her beautiful bay Arab strutting along beside her. In this day dream, she was wearing a pair of spotless riding boots, a pair of canary jodhpurs and a pure white short sleeved T-shirt. The horse had three 1st place ribbons strapped to its bridle, and she was walking with a sense of pride and dignity.

She continued her day dream as the small group of unruly almost-teenagers (other than Linda, of course) and their carer walked through the Horseland gates. She hadn't yet snapped out of it when she had been handed a hard hat and told to put it on, or when a sudden burst of hot air down the back of her neck made her jump.

"That's Calypso!" A dark skinned girl with pretty, curly black hair called, waving cheerfully and walking over. Rowan slowly turned around, and came face to face with a beautiful chestnut appaloosa. Slowly, she reached out a hand and stroked Calypso's velvety soft nose. When the girl reached them, Rowan found that she was roughly the same age as herself.

"I'm Molly, this is my horse. Will asked if I would let you guys use her in the lesson. I heard that some girl called Rowan was riding her today, know where she is?" Molly said, untying the horse in one fluent movement, and removing the head collar.

"Yes, that's me." Rowan said, trying to keep the nervousness out of her voice. Suddenly, all her dreams of soaring over fences with her own horse seemed impossible. This thing was massive! However, Mark soon came over and chatted with the two girls until he was called over to another mare called Button to see who he was riding. Mark's brief presence encouraged her, and she was soon ready to have a leg-up onto the saddle.

Now, the horsey people of the world will know that a leg up is usually most efficient when you don't have a mounting block. If you are unable to vault on, it is quite easy to be aided by a simple leg up. All you and your friend have to do is make sure the rider is holding the reins with one hand firmly on the saddle, you count to three, and up you go as your partner heaves you up using one of your legs to let you push off. Much easier done that said, ironically. However, for a small, light girl like Rowan, things get more complicated.

Firstly, Molly took Rowan's right leg, counted to three, and heaved. Rowan, unsure of what to do in the first place, sailed upwards, landed heavily in the saddle, and slipped off the other side landing in a pile on the floor.

On their second try, Rowan successfully made it into the saddle but no sooner was she on than the saddle slipped and she was once again head first on the floor.

Finally, on their third try, Molly remembered to tighten the girth and Rowan ended up sitting comfortably in the saddle. However, all that falling had bruised her confidence even more, and even the reins were shaking slightly as she quivered from head to toe.

It was too late to back out now though, and Molly clipped the lead rope onto Calypso's bridle and set off, walking slowly around to school. Everyone else was already mounted and walking around too. Linda was on a stylish black Arabian called Scarlet, Mark was on a Kiger mustang stallion called Aztec and Tony was on a black and white paint mare called Button.

Will, the oldest of them all, was standing in the middle of the school on a powerful looking palomino stallion called Jimber. He said something very quietly to Jimber, and to Rowan's surprise, the horse immediately picked up an odd jogging pace and came over to them.

"Keep your heals down, Rowan. Your back posture is good but your chin ought to be a little higher. Show off a bit!" He chuckled, winking at her. She decided she liked Will, with his western accent and silly ways. He soon went off to the next rider, Tony, and told him similar things. He eventually reached Linda, who was at the front of the line. He said something to her; she nodded earnestly, and did exactly as she was told. Unbelievable!

"Ok everyone!" Will called, fitting himself and Jimber in front of everyone else in the cue and halting the rest of the ride. "I'm going to pick up trot in that corner, which in the advanced lessons I call 'F', and keep Jimber here trotting all the way to the rear. Then, you each get a turn to try. Ready boy?" He then clicked to Jimber and the horse walked steadily onwards before reaching the corner he had pointed to and doing the same odd jogging movement as before. _So that's trotting!_

He soon reached the rear, halting behind Rowan who was at the back. Next was Linda, who gave Scarlet a kick with her heals when the blonde girl leading her told her too. Scarlet walked on a tad sluggishly, until they reached the corner. She picked up a lively trot and Linda had difficulty rising in the saddle that Will had done so easily. Rowan watched as Will cast a critical gaze over Linda, smiling slightly. He grinned at her as she arrived behind him, Scarlet looking rather pleased with herself.

 _Yuck! Will wasn't falling for_ _ **Linda**_ _, was he?_ Rowan thought. She turned around and stuck her tongue out slightly in disgust. The next two riders went well, and finally it was Rowan's turn. She didn't want to kick Calypso, so instead she squeezed her legs together. To her amazement, the horse plodded onwards obediently. If Linda doing what Will said to was unbelievable, then this was a miracle.

She had to kick to get the horse trotting, but she only did it lightly and Molly had to run ahead to prompt Calypso to trot. When they reached the end of the ride, Rowan felt slightly dishevelled. She flopped about on the saddle when she trotted, and only managed two successful beats of rising trot, but felt great. She hadn't hit the ground! The rest of the lesson took a similar route, except they changed the rein half way through and tried some steering and trotting on the other rein.

When she eventually dismounted, Molly beamed at her.

"Great job!" She grinned, high-fiving Rowan. Rowan just smiled and nodded thankfully, before patting Calypso's neck and hurrying back to Shannon.

Shannon had a long discussion with Will, while the group talked with the handlers. Rowan learnt each of their names and talked happily until all the foster children trouped back to the car and hopped in. The drive back to the foster home seemed to take no time at all, however as soon as she walked into her room she was called into her Social Worker's office.

"Rowan! Hello! Do sit down. I have some great news! Someone answered the add, and you will meet your potential foster parents tomorrow. Isn't that great?" It took a moment to sink in. And when it did, the truth hurt more than her Social worker could imagine.

 **Hello! Did you like it? I tried to add in some description on the riding part, but don't worry, it isn't going to be all riding riding riding. There will be plenty of 'off the horse' drama too! So who will Rowan's new parents be? And will she get to go back to Horseland? Please comment and tell me what you think. I would also like to know more about the system of foster homes, because I personally don't have much experience with them, but one of my friends is fostered. So I don't want to offend anyone!**

 **Thank you! Have a great day! But also remember to get off whatever portable or electronic device you are on right now and hop into the saddle!**

 **~Mapleshade Returns**


	2. A very long AN

_**Please, everyone read EVERYTHING in this A/N. It is important! And remember, this does not refer to everyone in the reviews, just some people! Reviews for the previous chapter may or may not be answered in the next update. Not now.**_

 **Sorry guys. I was writing up the next chapter, when I noticed the reviews. I understand that some people don't like Yemi's comments because you think that Yemi is 'flaming' or 'trying to upset me'. I want you all to know that if I think Yemi is going too far, I will delete the comment and take no notice. However, I am always interested in improving and learning things to make my story better and although within Yemi's comment there were some things such as the mention of 'jodhpurs' being slang or not that were unimportant, I do value tips on grammar.**

 **I thank you all for trying to stick up for me, and I am very grateful that I have people reading my stories who are willing to confront others in order to help stop people 'hating' or 'flaming' my work! I am not trying to discourage anyone from standing up to someone because they are rude about another person's work, but please, please, please don't be rude to each other in the comments!**

 **In other words, think before you click 'post review'. If the comment you wrote would offend you if it was aimed at you, consider how effective it will be. Do you really want to hurt Yemi's feelings? I think she/he has got the message now. You don't like the 'criticism' Yemi gives. I now ask you to take a deep breath, ignore hurtful comments and move on!**

 **So over all, the next chapter will come up soon. I will therefore be watching the comments carefully. It is sad for me to see people getting upset or 'ganging up' on others in the comments! If I am offended or don't like what someone says in the comments, starting NOW, I will delete them or report them, whatever I feel is necessary. I have already deleted one, and the person who posted it knows who they are if they look in the reviews and sees their comment missing. Before you ask why, let's just say that I don't think telling someone to silence themselves and that they were using the word 'criticism' to offend others is not what I want to see in the comments!**

 **I am sorry if anyone felt offended or that I took their review the wrong way. If you have an account, message me, or if you are a guest who does not currently have an account please explain why I misinterpreted your review in the review if you wish too.**

 **I hate that I had to do this. But I wanted to put a stop to the sort of: "Shut up, no one needs to hear your flaming!" reviews that were starting to appear! Now, Dark Hollyleaf, I am not referring to your first reviews, don't panic. I am talking about the later reviews posted by other people.**

 **Yemi does not need defending, but Yemi is a good example of what I don't want in the reviews! I decided to bring it up now because if I don't say something early on it may progress into something bigger. No one likes arguments, so let's not use the reviews to both try to ignite one or join into one!**

 **Now, I may have jumped to conclusions here, but reading through the reviews it certainly feels like people are arguing or ganging up on each other. You can read through the reviews and check it out for yourselves.**

 **Thank you everyone! Don't feel bad if you were one of the people who I could have been referring to: I don't mind that you may or may not have made a mistake. I do pick up an argument easily, and I must say that (and I am ashamed) I can get pretty vile very quickly.**

 **Sorry for this. This does not apply to everyone in the comments! I just wanted to point this out. Please respect my views on this subject, and don't take it personally. I just wanted to warn people that their review will be reported/ deleted and I decided to explain it properly!**

 **Now onto the fun part! You know that in the rules you cannot post JUST and Author's Note, so here is a bit of story content and in a way a 'sneak peek'! *Girls squeals* How exciting!**

Shadow stood in his tiny stall flicking his tail endlessly and stomping his hooves.

"Be quiet!" The stallion in the stable next to him nickered, pointing with his ears to the man walking down the long row of stalls. Shadow stopped stomping a moment too late, and the angry human stormed up to his door and yelled something at him, brandishing the crop dangerously.

Shadow backed up in his stall, pulling his head away from the human and pinning his ears. The human screeched something and turned away, storming off along the row of horses again until he reached a stall near the end. He pulled open the door and went inside, coming out again moments later with a grey mare beside him. He yanked at the head collar sharply, pulling the skinny mare along. She was practically skin and bones! The 'rescue centre' hadn't succeeded in fattening her up, and no one wanted her.

Shadow watched with sad eyes as the mare plodded along. She knew her fate already. He took a step forwards, reaching the half-door easily and poked his head out. He gave a whinny of farewell which the mare returned weakly as she was yanked around a corner and into a passageway. The passageway leads to a doorway, which in turn leads to the room where no horse wants to go in.

There was a shrill whinny, a shout, a stomping of unsteady hooves, and then silence. Deadly silence.

 **Thanks for reading! Who is this? Poor Shadow! And the mare! I wonder what I am plotting? You will have to find out! Review if you want to but take into account all that was said above, and remember: when you have finished checking out FanFiction stories, get off your electronic device and hop into the saddle!**

 **~Maplshade Returns.**


End file.
